The weekend and beyond

Travel conditions should be just fine around the D.C. region this weekend, with moderate temperatures and no precipitation. Both the Capitals and the Wizards have Saturday games at Verizon Center, while the Georgetown Hoyas are there at 1 p.m. Sunday, so watch for extra car and pedestrian traffic in Chinatown. There are no big road work projects scheduled to delay your trips, but watch for the usual track work on Metro. Here are some highlights.

Metrorail weekend delays
The transit authority will be working on the Red and Blue lines this weekend, creating delays from 10 p.m. Friday through the midnight closing on Sunday as trains maneuver around the work zones.

Red Line: Riders between Shady Grove and Twinbrook should add half an hour to their travel time. Workers are making repairs to the platform at Rockville, part of the long-term rehabilitation project on the Red Line. Riders between Takoma and Forest Glen should add 20 minutes to their travel time. Workers will be upgrading the train control system.

On Saturday and Sunday, Red Line trains are scheduled to leave the ends of the line at Shady Grove and Glenmont about every 24 minutes. From 9 a.m. to 9 p.m., an interior segment of the line, between Grosvenor and Takoma, will operate trains about every 12 minutes apart.

Blue Line: Riders between Stadium-Armory and Addison Road should add half an hour to normal travel times. Workers will be replacing concrete slabs underneath the rails.

Arlington run Sunday
South Joyce Street between South 15th Street and Army Navy Drive, and Army Navy Drive between South Joyce and South 25th streets in Arlington will close from 7 to 11 a.m. Sunday for the Valentines Day 5K race.

The county is encouraging race participants to use Metro, but drivers should use the parking garage at the Pentagon City Mall.

Prince William sluggers
A big chunk of the park and ride area at the Potomac Mall is scheduled to disappear on Monday, and many of the casual carpoolers known as sluggers still will be searching for a new base. The mall's managers announced in January that they would cut the commuter parking area from 1,000 to 275 spaces, to create room for more commercial development.

Prince William County officials are trying to come up with new parking nearby. But in the meantime, they suggest these other parking areas that tend to have space available: The commuter lot on Annapolis Way near I-95 and Route 123, which is served by Lake Ridge OmniRide buses; the Dale City commuter lot at Dale Boulevard and Gemini Way, served by Dale City OmniRide buses; the Lindendale commuter lot at Dale Boulevard and Quate Lane; the Hillendale commuter lot at Hillendale Road near Dale Boulevard; and the Kmart on Dale Boulevard in Dale City.

Beltway closings in Tysons
Construction of the bridges that will carry the new Metrorail line over the Capital Beltway at Route 123 in Tysons Corner is now set to begin Wednesday night.
This will require closing three lanes of the Beltway's inner loop (northbound I-495) overnights from 11 p.m. to 5 a.m.

The coming week's work is scheduled for Wednesday through Friday nights. Then it will continue nightly Sundays through Fridays for the next five weeks. Northbound through traffic will be allowed to use the single open lane only, so expect significant delays.

The exit ramps to Route 123 also will be closed overnights. Drivers who need to reach Route 123 will be directed to continue north on the Beltway, exit at Georgetown Pike (Route 193), turn around at Georgetown Pike, then enter the southbound Beltway, the outer loop. Drivers will be able to exit to both directions of Route 123 from the southbound Beltway.

Eastbound Dulles Connector
The left lane of the eastbound Dulles Connector Road (Route 267) will be closed from the Beltway overpass to the Old Chain Bridge Road overpass during the daytime this coming week. The closures will be in place Monday through Thursday from 9:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m., and Friday from 9:30 a.m. to noon. Crews on the Dulles rail project will be
installing manholes.

Beltway/Telegraph Road
Watch for left lane closings on the Capital Beltway at the Telegraph Road interchange from 9:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. Monday through Thursday and from 9:30 a.m. to noon Friday.

Burroughs Avenue
The District Department of Transportation is shifting all traffic to the north side of Nannie Helen Burroughs Avenue NE between Minnesota Avenue and 55th Street, to accommodate construction along the southern curb lane of the roadway.

The traffic lane shift, scheduled to begin today, will remain in place through May. One through lane in each direction will remain open, and curbside parking will be restricted.

This is one of the District's Great Streets projects and is funded with federal stimulus money. Construction started in November and is scheduled to continue until March 2012. The transportation department says it will improve pedestrian accessibility, travel mobility and overall safety along Burroughs Avenue from Minnesota Avenue to Eastern Avenue and also enhance the appearance of the neighborhood.

North Capitol Street
The District Department of Transportation is restricting travel lanes on North Capitol Street from Seaton Place to Randolph Place and from P Street to Hanover Place to accommodate construction of a new safety barrier.

During off-peak hours, North Capitol Street may be reduced to a single lane in each direction. The work zones will be lifted during rush hours. These restrictions are scheduled to continue through May.

Maryland lane closings
The Maryland State Highway Administration will continue its routine inspections of highway bridges. Here's the schedule of the resulting lane closings.

Saturday: Alternating double left and double right lane closures of the Capital Beltway's outer loop at River Road from 4:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Alternating single lane closings on the outer loop at Powder Mill Road from 5 a.m. to 10 a.m.

Sunday: Alternating double left lane closings on the inner loop at River Road from 4:30 a.m. to noon.

Tuesday: Alternating left and right lane closings on both sides of I-70 at Bower Avenue in Frederick County from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

VRE hearings
Virginia Railway Express has four more hearings coming up on its plan to modify the fare structure and change some passenger policies because the trains are getting more crowded.

Intercounty Connector opening
The first segment of the Intercounty Connector, the 7.2-mile western section between I-370 and Georgia Avenue, is scheduled to open at 6 a.m. Feb. 22, weather permitting. Drivers already are hearing radio ads promoting the opening.

While MD 200 is going to be an electronic toll road, there's a free introductory offer: Through March 6, motorists can take a test drive along the new six-lane highway at no charge. The tolls will take effect at 12:01 a.m. March 7. They will be no toll booths. The fees will be collected by E-ZPass, or cameras will take photos of your license plate and send you a bill.

You'll want to have an E-ZPass, because there's a $3 service charge with the bill mailed to the vehicle owner's address. Here, too, there's an introductory offer: The service charges for those without E-ZPass will be waived until midnight April 5.

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